


I Was Promised The Light

by laurenshappenstobemyhusband



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Break Bones, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Titan Shifters, but he does break everything in his vicinity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25439326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurenshappenstobemyhusband/pseuds/laurenshappenstobemyhusband
Summary: Seeing Kacchan getting overpowered by the slime villain awakened something in Izuku. It was like instinct. Without thinking about it, he stuck his hand in his mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood. He didn't know why he had to do it, but it felt right. Natural, even.And that was when the yellow lightning flashed, and his vision went white, then black.When everyone's vision cleared, quirkless Izuku was gone, like he had never been there in the first place. In his place stood a 13 meter tall creature with glowing green eyes and rippling muscles, and it wasangry.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Hisashi & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Comments: 109
Kudos: 588





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I'd never make a crossover fic... and then i watched attack on titan
> 
> this isn't a real and true crossover. the only real attack on titan element is izuku having titan powers. you don't have to have watched aot to understand this fic. 
> 
> no aot characters here (as much as I'd love seeing levi and aizawa interact). if you didn't watch attack on titan, this might minorly spoil some content for you, but nothing major. either way you should watch attack on titan. just do it.
> 
> i never read the manga so go easy on me. i will be using and discarding canon details with no hesitation bitch
> 
> hope no one did this idea already!

When Izuku was asked later, much later, what he thought triggered the response that would change his life, his answer was _his eyes._

The him being Kacchan, of course, usually so confident in his power. His quirk let him coast, while Izuku always had to drag himself along at his top speed just to keep up. His belief in himself shined in his eyes, in every bounce in his step. He radiated confidence in everything he did.

There wasn't a hint of that confidence in his eyes while he was being choked and consumed by the slime villain, overtaken before a crowd of what he would call _extras_. There was anger, and loathing, and fear. It was weird to see all that anger channeled at someone rather than himself. Izuku hadn't known someone could upset Kacchan like he seemed to do by just existing. 

The fear was what brought Izuku to action. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen true fear on the other boy's face. Fury? Constantly. Loathing? All the time, especially towards Izuku. But _fear?_ That was a foreign concept to Kacchan. Or at least, it had been before. A small part of Izuku was satisfied that Kacchan had finally experienced himself what he had done to him all of these years. But most of him was afraid. Anything that scared Kacchan was a force to be reckoned with.

It was his own fear and anger at the villain - who _dared_ to reduce the obstinate blond to tears - that awakened something in Izuku. It was like instinct. He knew he had to do something, _fast_ , and without thinking about it, he stuck his hand in his mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood. He didn't know why he had to do it, but it felt right. Natural, even.

And that was when the lightning flashed, and his vision went white, then black.

Growing a little less than 13 meters in a split second didn't hurt like Izuku would have assumed. No growing pains or stretching feeling or anything. Probably due to the fact that _he_ wasn't growing, the body around him was, but that was a matter he would settle later. He was getting enough data just by standing there to fill ten notebooks.

As Izuku looked down on the people in the crowd, on the heroes doing nothing, he found himself more wistful than anything. Maybe the transformation had put him into a state of shock, and that was why he wasn't panicking. He was just... reminiscing. What was it the neighborhood kids used to call him? Quirkless Izuku, weak Izuku, good-for-nothing Izuku.

As it turned out, none of these nicknames were true. Children could be so cruel about what they didn't know or understand. 

He could see the sludge villain clearly now over the crowd, which now looked like a pack of rodents. It reintroduced his rage, bigger and more bestial than before. He was angrier than he had ever been, and he growled, almost Kacchan-like.

The villain had stopped for a moment, shocked at the sudden transformation, and as soon as he saw Izuku towering over him, he released Kacchan and began to glide away as fast as he could. The blond boy was gasping for breath, vomiting out black sludge, but Izuku only had eyes for the villain itself. If he had any fear or apprehension, it was lost in the rage.

He charged forward, hot on the tail of the villain, and luckily didn't trample anyone in the process, although he did do some solid damage to the road below him. He was fast on his new long legs, and he reached the villain before it could disappear down the storm drain, lifting it up with one giant hand and bringing it close to his face.

"What the fuck are you?" it asked fearfully, but Izuku couldn't speak in this form, and he wouldn't even if he had the ability. He brought his other hand down on it in a punch, and with a sickening squelch, reduced it to flecks. Judging by the way these flecks remained scattered along the buildings, the villain was dead. It wouldn't be trying to eat anyone else anymore.

Now that the immediate threat was gone, he looked himself over. Whatever his new form was, it wasn't human, although there were definitely similarities. He had arms and legs like a person, and muscles too. He put a hand to his face, feeling a mouth with no lips and pointy ears. _I probably look like a monster._ But that wasn't his main concern of the moment. 

His head was hazy, and he sat down, slumped against a building only a few meters taller than him. He looked around at the crowd, which was a safe distance away and gaping at him. He tried to speak, just to tell them it was alright now - just like All Might would do - but what came out was more like a roar. He heard a few screams from the crowd, and a few seconds later, one of the useless pros approached him. Death Arms, he thinks to himself. He stopped a few feet away from Izuku, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Excuse me," he called. "What are you?" Not who, but _what._ Like they didn't live in a superhero society where at least 20% of people were mutant types.

Another roar came in response. Izuku was getting sick of trying to communicate, and he was also bone tired. He slumped further, moving hastily when he felt the building crumble beneath him. _Bad idea. I have to be conscientious of my size._

Laying on the ground felt like a safer option, and he collapsed onto his stomach. The pro jumped away, then moved a little closer. Behind him, some of his fellow pros started to approach as well. Izuku ignored them all.

 _I shouldn't fall asleep here. Most likely they'll want to question me about this. Will I know what to say when they do? Do_ I _even know what happened?_

He looked at his hand; it was steaming, as if it were hot, but he felt no warmth. He gave it a weak wave and it continued to release steam. _Unimportant. Or rather, unimportant for now. I have to turn back somehow._

It was getting harder to open his eyes, even as the crowd around him grew. There were the heroes, and they were now joined by a number of cops who surrounded his head and shouted questions at him.

"What's your name?"

"Who are you?"

"What's your quirk?"

 _I don't have one,_ he wanted to shout back. _I don't have a quirk._ But now he could see that it wasn't true. The contrary was staring him right in the face.

His eyes shut, and he found that he couldn't open them again. 

_I have to get up._ He couldn't. 

_I have to turn back._ He didn't know how. 

_I have to sleep._ He did, and the shouting around him faded into soft blackness.

* * *

When he opened his eyes next, he was laying down in a moving car. His hands were restrained behind him. _Quirk restraining cuffs. Never thought I would be put in these._

His wooziness was fading, and being rapidly replaced by fear. 

"Where-" he coughed, clearing his dry throat, "-where am I? Where are you taking me?"

The cop in the passenger seat turned around the face him. "We're taking you to the station for questioning about the incident. You can call a parent there, tell them where you are and what happened. You're not in trouble."

 _All of this seems to argue the opposite._ "Can you uncuff me, then?" He didn't like the feeling of being restrained, even though the handcuffs were padded. It made him feel like a criminal. Dangerous, even.

_Am I dangerous, the way I am now?_

"I can't, sorry. It's standard procedure for unlicensed quirk use."

"But I don't-" He cut himself off, pressing his lips together. _But I don't have a quirk._ "Okay." He needed to focus on staying awake now. The cops would see his record soon enough, and that would tell them anything that he could.

In the meantime, he focused on his newly discovered quirk. _Why did it only appear now? If I have a quirk, why do I have the extra toe joint? What are the capabilities of it?_ He needed a pen and paper, and was about to ask the police officer if he had any before remembering the handcuffs. He wouldn't be able to use any notebook now. 

They reached the station, and the officers helped Izuku inside, where they sat him down in one of those interrogation rooms. 

"We'll let you call someone now," one of them said, unlocking his cuffs and handing him a phone. "Tell them that they can come get you in half an hour, after we're done asking questions."

Izuku called his mom, even though he hated to disturb her during her limited free time. She always worked so hard to support the two of them, especially after his dad disappeared. She barely got any rest as it was.

"Hi Mom," he said, and was immediately met with fast, tearful questioning. "No, I'm okay. I'm at the police station. Yeah, they're treating me fine. They just have to ask me some things about the villain attack. I'm okay. Really. I'm not just saying that, Mom."

His mom was the only person who could match him in terms of worrying. _I've given her a complex, me and all the trouble I get into._ Given, it was more trouble that always found _him,_ but there was no real difference when he came home covered in burns and scratches. He couldn't hide everything, as much as he wanted to. 

"I have to go now, okay? You can come get me in half an hour, they said. I'll see you soon. Love you. Bye." He hung up the phone, handing it back to the officer. "Okay, I'm ready for the questions."

They started with the easy questions. They wanted to know about the sludge villain, how he found himself there, who the boy being attacked was. Izuku had only seen it walking home from school, and joined the crowd to see what they were watching. He didn't know anything about the sludge villain, other than its basic makeup. The boy was Kacchan, of course, but he called him Bakugou to the men.

After that it was questions about why he interfered, _how_ he interfered, all sorts of stuff about his quirk that he knew nothing about. He answered as honestly as he could, before another cop with a file came in. _His_ file.

"It says here you're quirkless," the first cop said, eyebrows furrowed. "Care to explain that?" _Do they think I lied to the doctor? What is there to explain?_

"I have no idea," Izuku said honestly. "I've never... transformed like that before."

"So it just happened?"

Izuku remembered biting his hand, tearing his skin open. "No. I had to injure myself to trigger it."

"How did you know to do that?"

"I don't know."

They asked more questions, but he couldn't answer them, and they grew tired of it. 

"You're dismissed," one of them said, opening the door to let him out. "Thank you for your time. I believe your mom is waiting for you in the receptionist area."

"Can I ask something first?" Izuku said, as eager as he was to get home. "How did I transform back? What did it look like?"

The cops exchanged a surprised look.

"It was strange," one of them finally said. You didn't transform back, really. You kind of... burst out of the back of the neck, Alien style. You were attached to the body, I believe, but you ripped through what was connecting you. Then you passed out, and we took you in."

"What happened to the body?" Izuku was feeling more awake than he had in hours. "Do you have it in custody?"

"We tried to take it in," the other cop said, "but it was steaming like hell, and when it stopped... there was nothing left. Somehow it evaporated."

 _Steam. Evaporation. I need to write this down._ He thanked the officers and walked out, not looking back. His hands were shaking with the new knowledge.

He walked through the hallway, passing by a number of other policemen. One of them had her own interogee with her. _Kacchan._ Neither of them said anything, and when their eyes met, Izuku saw nothing but emptiness in his dull red eyes. Emptiness and exhaustion. There were still flecks of black goo on his face.

His mom was sitting on the edge of a chair, and as soon as she saw him, she sprang up and took him straight home, tears streaming down her face.

"Izuku, what _happened?_ " she kept asking, and he didn't know, he _really didn't know._ He told her about the transformation, of course, and she scheduled a doctor's appointment for him for the next week to see if it could explain anything. Izuku didn't say anything, but inside, he really doubted anything would come of it. If the doctor missed it before, he wouldn't catch it this time.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he said quietly, because he was double tired after all of those questions. "I'm going to go sleep now, okay? I'm not hungry, I'll eat tomorrow, I promise. No, I don't need any tea or anything, but thank you. I'm okay, really."

She let him go despite her own fretting, and he kicked off his shoes, flopping onto his bed. He was asleep within a minute of his head hitting the pillow.

* * *

His mom gave him the next day off of school to rest, but as soon as she for work, he pulled on his shoes and went off on a walk, fighting off his residual weariness. He needed to see the city square where it all happened. He needed to know it wasn't all a dream.

The area was deserted, and he could see the building he leaned against. The whole area was taped up in yellow, so he couldn't get too close, but he could see his footprints in the pavement that he stomped through, and a giant torn up area where he fell asleep. _I must've been huge. Next time I transform I'll have to measure myself. It would be good to get an accurate reading._

It suddenly hit him. _I have a quirk. I can be a hero._ Sure, he had been planning on applying to UA anyway, but with a quirk like this he was bound to get in. _I can be a hero for real. I can help people like All Might._

First, though, he had to get stronger. He hadn't taken the hero stuff seriously because he didn't genuinely believe that he could be one. In other words, he had noodle arms and stick legs. Regardless of whether he could transform into the creature - which he would test out later, somewhere less public - he needed to be able to fight in cases where his quirk wouldn't help him.

His quirk. _My quirk._ Thinking the words would never get old for him.

He didn't realize that he was mumbling until he heard a voice nearby say, "Are you going to try and be a hero, young man?"

He spun around, eyes settling on the owner of the voice. He thought he might have recognized him from the crowd the day before, but there was so much happening that he couldn't be sure.

"Who are you?" he asked the blond man, who looked frail enough to be knocked over by the wind. He didn't want to be rude, but to be fair, the man had been the one to ask the intrusive questions first.

"I'm... nobody," the man answered after a short pause. "Someone who used to be great. It doesn't matter who I am. I can help you become stronger. You want to go to UA, right? That's the best heroics school in this side of the country. Maybe the whole country. And with your quirk, you could definitely get there, young man."

There were many things about the man that perplexed Izuku, but he was weary to his bones, and overflowing with resolve. He _needed_ to get stronger if he wanted to get into UA, and this man was offering his help for free.

He didn't _seem_ like a random creep, anyway. Izuku had his mom's pepper spray on him just in case.

"I do," he said, clenching his fist. "I want to be a hero more than anything. How do you think I can get stronger?" 

"Meet me at the beach tomorrow morning," the man said, starting to walk off. His gait was slow, timely. "I'll get you to work right away."

"Wait!" Izuku called, bursting with questions. The one that won out was, "What should I call you?"

The man hesitated, like his own name was a puzzle he had to figure out. "Yagi is good," he decided. "You can call me Yagi-san."

"Alright, Yagi-san," Izuku said, and walked off in the opposite direction. There was leftover map tofu in the fridge from dinner, and right then, he was hungry enough to eat a person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The people shout "please laurens don't start another multichap, you already have 7 of them and 3 series that you're in the middle of" but I don't hear them over my own hubris 
> 
> Yes, I know what I'm doing and I also disapprove of my actions. Please help.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a few people in the comments saying "all might is a weird creepy old man" and "izuku needs to not trust strangers so easily he'll totally get kidnapped" so here's a copypaste of my response to someone:
> 
> Lmao All Might’s in “damn I feel so useless for not helping how can I feel not useless ooh maybe I can mentor than kid and help him be a hero” mode and izuku’s in “oh shit I have to get ready for the entrance exam but Im just a baby oh this old man’s offering his help I guess I’ll take it and if hes a villain Ill just titan step on him” mode.
> 
> Theyre both idiots, in other words

Izuku rushed home after that, shoving mapo tofu in his mouth while he researched other quirks similar to his. He started with Mount Lady and her Gigantification, but quickly abandoned that line of thinking. Mount Lady grew, but her look remained the same, and she didn't discard her body like a shell afterward. That led him to pursue insect-like quirks, metamorphosis quirks, any type of quirk that turned separate from the user, but he couldn't find anything like it. And when he searched up "quirked person with extra toe joint," he only got urban legends and hypotheticals.

 _Whatever is up with me, it's unprecedented. I'll need to make my own research through practice._ He didn't know where exactly he'd practice, but maybe he could get permission from someone to use their abandoned plainland somewhere far. Unlicensed quirk use wasn't a joke, after all.

His mother got home, and he told her that he was fine to go to school the next day. She left early every morning to go to work, so he'd be able to make it to the beach and spend a good hour there before he had to run off to school. It wouldn't matter if his clothes were sandy or if he was sweaty from training; there was nothing he could do, good or bad, to change his image in the eyes of his classmates.

 _Maybe getting a quirk will change that,_ he thought listlessly. _Maybe now they'll respect me, treat me like an equal. Kacchan must've seen me that day. If he told them that it was me, then I might actually be able to spend the rest of middle school without being afraid of my stuff getting destroyed._ He thought about Kacchan for a moment, then frowned. _Unlikely._

He went to sleep early again, not wanting to be drowsy the next day, and woke up at five in the morning. His mom was still there, packing her and Izuku's lunch, and he got dressed quietly in the dark of his room. When he heard the front door close behind her, he ran to brush his teeth, ate a granola bar for energy, and set off for the beach.

He was halfway down the road when he remembered that he didn't know anything about this guy. _Sure, he looks weak, but what if he's actually a pedophile serial killer? That wouldn't be good. Plus, I don't really know how to activate my quirk on command, so I might not be able to get away on time._

It wasn't like he had any friends to call to accompany him, much less ones that would wake up at five in the morning for him. The only person his age that he actually knew well was Kacchan, and he was, well, _Kacchan._

_Wait. That might actually work._

He had Kacchan's phone number in his phone due to his mom's insistence, just in case something happened to him at school. The irony wasn't lost on him, but he was glad to have it on him now. He clicked on the contact, held his breath, and pressed the call button.

He didn't actually expect anyone to pick up, so he almost jumped when he heard a gruff, sleep heavy voice on the other end say, "What the hell do you want, nerd?"

"Oh! Uh, hi Kacchan!" He was nervous suddenly, but plowed through. "I, uh, I'm sick of your bullshit! Come to the beach and fight me!"

There was a pause on the other end, like Kacchan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Izuku only half believed he had even said the words. It took him too long to muster up the courage to get them out, but he knew it was the only possible way to get Kacchan to come to the beach.

"What the fuck? It's five in the morning. Also I got attacked by a sludge villain two days ago, if you didn't hear, fuckwad." He sounded even more tired, if possible, and two things suddenly occurred to Izuku:

1\. Kacchan was actually messed up by the villain attack. Sure, he had been there and seen his face, but here was _solid evidence_ that he wasn't okay. Bakugou Katsuki would never turn down the opportunity to fight someone, especially him.

2\. _Kacchan doesn't know that I'm the one who saved him._

The second one hurt a little more than the first, but he couldn't give up then. Not while his heartbeat was threatening to burst his eardrums. "Yeah, um, I heard, and I don't freaking care! Come to the beach and get your, um, ass kicked!" 

He was a horrible actor, he knew it, but he was hoping that it was convincing enough for just-woken-up-Kacchan. There was another pause, and he checked to make sure the blond didn't hang up. Nope, he was just still in shock.

"Fine," he finally said. "I'll come to the beach, but I'm gonna kick your ass so hard, they'll find it in the bottom of the ocean."

"Great, thank you!" Izuku said, his cover slipping for a second. "I mean, you can try! Um, bye." He hung up the phone, leaning against the wall for support. Forget turning into a giant beast creature; that phone call was ten times scarier than mysterious quirk manifestation.

He made it to the beach and noticed in relief that Yagi wasn't there yet. He then remembered that they didn't exactly decide on a time, and that it could be hours before the man showed up. _Great thinking, Izuku. You sneak out of the house to meet with a man you've never met before under the premise of training, and you couldn't even plan it right._

Kacchan showed up fifteen minutes later, dressed in a tank top and sweatpants and looking ready to murder him. At the same time, Izuku spotted Yagi sitting on a bench at the edge of where the sand started, probably waiting for him. _Alright, showtime._

"Kacchan, give me a minute!" he called, which stopped the boy in his tracks. 

"Are we here to fight or not?" he shouted back, palms sparking. 

"Uh, yeah, just hold on a second! Wait there!" He quickly ran over to the man, panting a little as he stopped in front of him. _I'm so out of shape._

"Oh, young man, you're here," Yagi said, but Izuku stopped him with a finger up.

"I... just remembered... I have no idea who... you are," he got out between breaths. "So I brought my friend... here to make sure you wouldn't... kidnap me. If you try anything... he'll blow your face off... and call the cops." He felt a little bad talking like that to someone who seemed nice enough, but in his defense, he had a good reason. 

Yagi looked surprised. "Ah, why didn't you say so? I have my UA identification card right here. You're right, however, it's very irresponsible to go meet a stranger without having someone there. It was a smart move to bring a friend along."

"You work at UA?" All of a sudden, Izuku was ready to melt into the floor. _I was talking back to someone who works at UA! I called him a kidnapper! They'll never let me in now!_

"I'm a... janitor," the man says, taking out his ID card. Sure enough, there's his face and name, Yagi Toshinori, right under the UA logo. "I apologize for not saying before. I may only be a janitor, but I used to go to UA too, many years ago, so I remember the training."

"That makes sense," Izuku said, still ready to be banned from even applying to UA. "Random strangers don't usually go around offering training advice, after all."

Yagi looks like he's about to say something, but all of a sudden Izuku hears Kacchan shout, "Are we fighting or not, shitty nerd? I'll blow you and your old man up in a second."

"Is... that your friend?"

"Yeah, not really. I have to settle something with him, I'll be right back." He ran off towards Kacchan, trying to think of something to say to stop himself from being explodokilled. _Maybe I'll tell him that someone else called him and I'm here to clarify things? Or maybe I can say that I don't want to fight in front of Yagi-san. This won't end well for me._

Indeed, the second he got within blasting range, he was blown off his feet by an explosion. Not as scorching as his usual ones - Izuku still had the burns to show from those - but still powerful enough to knock him into the sand. He could feel a stinging on his arm, and when he looked at it, there was a thin cut stretching the length of his forearm. He must have cut himself on a seashell when he fell (or rather, _was thrown_ ).

"Alright, I surrender!" he shouted, shielding his face with his arms. "You win! You beat me! Please don't hurt me anymore!"

Kacchan started towards him, then paused. Izuku couldn't tell what was going through his head, but if this was anything like normal Kacchan, he would blast him at least twice more before leaving, just for calling him in the first place.

But whoever this was, it was not in fact normal Kacchan, because all he did was growl, "If you ever wake me up this early for a shitty ass reason like this again and then bail, I'll burn your house down," and storm off the beach in the direction of his house. Izuku watched him go from his spot on the sand, more shell-shocked by his actions than the original blast. Then there was a man standing over him, looking concerned. 

"Young man, are you okay? I made it over here as quickly as I could, but I never expected him to attack you as such!"

"It's okay, Yagi-san," Izuku said as genuinely as he could, rolling to a sitting position. "I called him here for a fight, anyway. And my name's Midoriya, by the way."

"Young Midoriya, then. Why would you ever call him here to fight? Were you planning on using your quirk? There are many better ways to train with your quirk, and much safer ways too."

"No, I wasn't going to really fight him. It was the only way I could get him to come. I needed someone here to be witness in case you tried to kidnap me, no offense again." He scrubbed at his eye with a fist, trying to get the sand out. "I'm alright now, though, don't worry. He's done worse."

"Worse than this? Hasn't he been reported by someone?"

Izuku shook his head, then tried standing. His head was a little dizzy from being pushed ten feet back in the air, but he didn't stumble, which was good. He probably didn't have any brain damage, then. "So about the training you were talking about. What is it, exactly? I did some research about cardio and different beach exercises but I don't have any equipment and I don't see any-"

"Slow down, young Midoriya," Yagi said, putting his hands up. "I don't think it would be wise to train today. In fact, I think you should go to the doctor or nurse at your school and get checked out for a concussion."

"He didn't hit me that hard, really," Izuku insisted. "And I didn't hit my head on anything. His blast caught me in the chest, and I fell with my arms catching me from behind. You came all this way, and-"

"There are months before the UA entrance exam," he interrupted. "Go home, get yourself checked out, and tomorrow we'll start on your training."

"What training?" Izuku asked again. Yagi gestured to the beach around him, and Izuku took the full sight in for the first time. The beach, if it could really be called that, was more like a dumping ground, littered in scrap metal and used appliances. _I'm lucky Kacchan didn't send me flying into one of those, or I would actually be injured._

"You're going to clean up this beach." He paused, then asked, "Do you have your tetanus shot?"

"I'm going to the doctor next week, I'll get it then," Izuku said, looking around at the wasteland surrounding him. "Is it really possible to clean up this whole thing in less than a year?"

"It will be hard at first, but you'll slowly build up strength, and it will get easier," Yagi said confidently. "Plus, I'll make you a training and diet plan by tomorrow, which will get you in hero shape by the entrance exam."

"That seems like a lot of work," Izuku said.

"It's difficult to be a hero. Are you prepared to dedicate the next ten months of your life to training?"

"Yes, of course," Izuku said immediately. "I've always wanted to be a hero. I mean, why are you doing all of this for me? It seems like a lot of extra work for _you._ "

"Ah, that's because I see a lot of myself in you," Yagi said, a little wistfully. _He must've wanted to be a hero when he was younger. Maybe he was in the heroics department when he was in UA. I wonder what happened to him._ "And you have a lot of untapped potential, as I saw in your fight with the sludge villain. Every great hero has a mentor."

"Really? Who do you think All Might's mentor is?" Izuku asked, thinking aloud. "I've never heard of him having a mentor, but they must have been great, since he turned out to be such a good hero."

Yagi started coughing, and Izuku was alarmed to see blood cover his hand. "I'm fine," he said quickly. "Happens... sometimes. Anyway I don't know anything about All Might, it's not like I've ever met him or anything. I don't know about his mentor either, he might not even have one! I don't know."

"Sorry, I'm a big All Might fan," Izuku said sheepishly. "I tend to bring him up in every conversation I have. My mom always points it out."

"Ah, nothing to be embarrassed about, young Midoriya," Yagi said with a smile, which would have been more reassuring if his teeth weren't bloody. _I hope he's not dying. He would tell me if he's dying, right?_ "Now please head home and get your head checked out, and we'll meet back here tomorrow. Make sure to go to bed early. We'll be meeting at four in the morning from now on."

"Four in the morning?!" He'd have to sneak out past his mom if he wanted to make it there on time. There was no way she would let him go that early to meet with a random stranger, even if the stranger did work at UA. _The window might work. I'll have to try it out before she gets back from work, after school. Rock climbing equipment won't be necessary, but rope could help. I could pick some up from the sports equipment store downtown._

Yagi laughed. "The life of a hero is hard, as I said before. Are you sure you're ready for it?"

Izuku thought about his dream being crushed at four years old, about the years of bullying for trying to hold onto a scrap of it, about thirteen hero analysis notebooks, about his new quirk which he still knew nothing about.

"I'm ready. I'll be here at four."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations! They are both less dumb
> 
> Also proto-bakugou is an asshole but also so easy to write? So fun? None of that complex stuff yet right now its just Asshole Time


	3. Chapter 3

Transitioning from not working out at all to having a full fitness regime was by far the hardest thing Izuku had ever tried, and that included surviving 3 years of middle school while in the same class as Kacchan.

He woke up at 4 every morning, snuck out the front door, and met Yagi on the beach. Once he was there, he pulled on his protective suit and gloves, which he bought at the hardware store, and began lugging trash away.

"Should I try some of it with my quirk?" he had asked on the first official day, but Yagi was adamant that he do all of it with his bare hands in order to build up strength. He started with the smaller pieces of trash, eyeing the discarded refrigerators wearily, but Yagi insisted that by the end of his training, he would be able to move those too.

The early morning clean up sessions weren't the only part of his training. He had a new diet plan to follow, a workout plan for after school, and stretches to do every morning and night so that he wouldn't be too sore to work out again the next day.

"Are you training for something?" his mom asked one day, watching him shovel his dinner into his mouth while grasping a dumbbell in his free hand. "I've never seen you work so hard before."

"I want to apply to UA," he said, and gauged her reaction. She looked surprised at first, and then, in the classic Midoriya fashion, she started to tear up.

"Izuku," she started, but he cut her off before she could find the nicest way of saying _give up._ He knew she still felt bad about crushing his dreams all those years ago, but he also knew that for the cause of his future, she would do it again. She could be tough when she had to be, and he appreciated it, but now was _different._ She knew it was different.

"I'm not staking my whole future on this," he said, putting his hand weight down. "I just want to have a fighting chance when I apply. And if I don't get accepted, then I'll go to whichever high school you want to send me to. Just... now that I have a quirk, I feel like I should at least try." He was tearing up then too, just like he always did, and he blinked hard to clear his vision. 14 years of suppressed dreams were spread out on the table, and he wasn't going to just suck them back up inside.

For a while, it seemed like the silence was going to suffocate him entirely. He could hear his own breathing, and the more he focused on it, the harder his breathing became, until he was sure his mom could hear it too. He always did that, make himself hyperventilate for no reason at all. It was odd, how in a real life or death situation, he acted without thinking, but in a situation with invisible stakes, he was frozen in place.

"Okay." His mom broke the silence, and he looked up sharply. "I'll let you apply for UA, and take the entrance exams. But promise me-" She took a deep breath, locking their eyes. "Promise me you won't lose yourself to this."

Now Izuku was just confused. "What do you mean?"

"When you were younger, you were very single-minded about wanting to be a hero. And all children are like that, I get it! But when you found out that you were quirkless, your face... I'd never seen you like that before. I was worried you wouldn't be the same after that." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Thankfully you grew up and didn't let it consume you, but I was always afraid that if your dream was shattered again, you would lose all of your ambition. And even now that you have a quirk somehow, I'm scared. I just don't want to lose you."

"Mom..." He didn't know exactly what to say to comfort her, but he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "You won't lose me. Whatever happens, I'll be alright. I promise."

As the months passed, Izuku found that he was indeed getting stronger. He went from picking up broken bottles to lugging microwaves to dragging televisions, and ultimately reached the refrigerator stage.

"You're doing well, my boy," Yagi commented, sitting on top of the refrigerator while Izuku pushed it. "You're truly dedicated to your work." Izuku, who was straining himself to keep moving, could only nod and try a smile. 

An interesting aspect about these 10 months was that Kacchan didn't try to talk to him at all. Izuku took this as a good thing at first, thinking that _maybe_ someone told him to leave him alone, but eventually came to the conclusion that Kacchan was so messed up from the villain attack, he didn't even have it in him to actively be a bully anymore. He never gave Izuku a second glance, and he still glared at his notebooks, but he never said a word while his friends continued to bully him. Even when Izuku tried to talk to him, he only walked away faster.

There was only one time, once throughout this whole period, that he addressed him.

"Kacchan," Izuku called one day after school, a month into his training. They were the only two on the sidewalk, which was good; he knew Kacchan wouldn't even stop if his friends were around. But he did stop now, only for a second, and that was all Izuku needed. "I'm the one who saved you from the sludge monster. I was the giant."

He knew theoretically that Kacchan was bound to find out the truth eventually; after all, they were both headed to UA. But he also knew that he would take it as a personal attack if he kept it a secret all that time. _Like I was somehow above him without him even knowing._ So he felt the need to try and tell him the truth, just that once.

Izuku expected him to keep walking, or scoff and tell him that he didn't know what he was talking about. Instead, he blinked, and the next thing he knew, he was being roughly pinned against the wall by his shoulders, the bricks digging into his back. He instinctively flinched back, and he hit his head on the wall, but he was so shocked that he barely felt it.

"Do you think you're fucking funny?" Kacchan breathed, wild eyes boring into Izuku's. Izuku shook his head rapidly, but Kacchan didn't even seem to register it. "If you ever say stupid shit like that again, I'll kill you. You hear?"

Izuku nodded quickly, not bothering to try and break out of his grip. He knew he wouldn't be able to. His only hope was that he'd get out of there without being too damaged. Usually the other boy didn't do any lasting damage, but in the state that he was in, Izuku had no idea _what_ he would do. 

Luckily - and surprisingly enough - he was abruptly released a second later, and Kacchan stormed off, not looking back once. He stood there for another minute, trying to catch his breath. _He knows I wouldn't joke about something like that. But then again, I'm just a quirkless nobody to him._ He started off shakily towards his house, trying to straighten out his clothes so his mom won't see how they were wrinkled by the neck. 

_I hope his friends are helping him through this._ They didn't seem like very nice people, but neither did Kacchan, so maybe they were what he needed during this time. He certainly didn't need or want anything that Izuku had to offer, and he was done offering.

It was weird how fast the ten months flew by. Now that he had a concrete goal, and every day was basically identical, he stopped being able to tell them apart. It was train-eat-school-train-eat-sleep every day, and he could tell that his mom got worried when he asked about the date and acted surprised at her answer. But even though he was tired and a little mind-addled, he was happy. He was so happy he could burst, and he told Yagi that the morning of the entrance exam, a few hours before he had to be at UA.

"I have to thank you, Yagi-san," he said, standing next to his final pile of trash. The garbage trucks would come in soon, and the beach would be spotless, a physical symbol of his progress. "I wouldn't be able to do anything without your help. I've always wanted to be a hero, and now..." He sniffed, embarrassed to be tearing up in front of his mentor. "I think I can do it. Thank you so much."

"It was your own work that got you here, my boy," Yagi said warmly. "Look around. This is all you." That of course brought on a fresh wave of tears, and Izuku wiped his eyes on his shirt collar. 

"Will I see you in UA?" he asked, trying to turn to a safer topic. "If I get in, of course."

"I'm sure you will," Yagi replied. "And even if you don't get in, I will still meet you back here in the mornings if you wish to continue your training. There are plenty of hero schools out there, you know."

"I know." _But there's only one UA._ "Thank you again."

"My pleasure, young Midoriya. Now go home and eat a full breakfast, okay? You want to be in perfect shape for your exam, especially since you're using your quirk for the first time in a while."

 _That's right._ Among all of the physical training, Izuku had forgotten about the quirked aspect of the test. Depending on the type of test it was, he might be able to make it through with just his physical training, but most likely it would be something that required a quirk. _I just have to bite my thumb. That's all._

He thanked Yagi a few more times before heading home, running the whole way. It was six, so he had three hours until the exam. He changed his clothes, ate breakfast, panicked, saw his mom off for work, panicked some more, and then boarded the train. He was shaking so hard, a woman actually offered her seat to him, but he passed. _Standing is more exercise, so it's better for my legs, unless resting would be better now. I don't want to be stiff for the exam, but it won't make a difference if my quirk doesn't activate. I barely have any practice using it, and my research is worthless if it doesn't apply. Should I even continue to try if it doesn't activate? Would they let me in with a quirk like that?_

"Are you sure you're alright?" the woman asked cautiously, and he realized that he was muttering.

"Yes! I'm fine, thank you," he said quickly, smiling shakily. "Really."

He got off at his station and walked a few blocks until he reached the gates of UA. _The_ UA! He wanted to take a picture just to preserve the memory, but he was snapped out of his head by a sharp call.

"Outta my way, Deku, or you're dead," Kacchan snarled, shoving past him. It had been months since they last spoke, and he seemed a lot more stable than he had been, but that didn't mean he liked him any better. At least he didn't look surprised to see him there. Even if everyone else in the class - including the teacher - thought he was either joking or delusional, Kacchan always knew that he would be there. They knew each other best, after all, even when Kacchan pretended they didn't. 

"Oh, sorry! Let's do our best," he squeaked, not that he thought the blond would reply to that. It was all pleasantries on his end and verbal rocks on Kacchan's. It was just the way their exchanges went. For a few months there was a hold on it, but now, it seemed, things were back to normal. It was odd how easily he fell back into his old conversational habits.

Izuku wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He continued forward, trying to push that whole conversation out of his head. Maybe he was trying too hard, because he didn't see the rock on the ground and promptly stumbled on it, falling forward towards the ground.

_Well this is how-_

Before he could finish the thought - "well this is how I die" - he froze. Or rather, something froze him, an inch above the ground. Before he could yell, he was floated to a standing position by the same mysterious force, and he had to shut his mouth out of nausea. It felt like being pulled up on a rollercoaster.

"Are you okay?" someone behind him asked, and he turned to find a girl, probably his age, with her fingertips pressed together. "Sorry for using my quirk on you, but it's bad luck to fall, right?" _She seems friendly. It's been a while since I've talked to someone friendly._

"Oh! Uh..." His mind was entirely blank. _How do I talk to nice people? I don't want to address her like I talk to my mom, and I shouldn't talk to her like I do to Kacchan. Should I ask her how she thinks she'll do in the exam, or is that too personal a topic? Does she even_ want _to be talking to me right now? She's probably just being polite, I shouldn't keep her here._

"See you around!" she said enthusiastically, walking off, and he realized that he probably missed most of the "conversation." Still, he just talked to a _girl! And a possible classmate!_ His mom would be so excited when he told her.

He walked inside and was handed a form, which he filled out so quickly, he wasn't even sure it was legible. Then he ran into the auditorium, followed his ID number to his seat, and found... Kacchan. _It'll be okay. I just have to not say anything to him and hope that we're not together for the test._

Present Mic - _the_ Present Mic! - emerged on the front stage and explained the rules of the test. They sounded simple enough, but Izuku's heart sank anyway. _I won't be able to knock out any robots with my bare hands. I need my quirk for this._

He didn't realize he was muttering until a blue haired boy called him out on it, and he spent the rest of the explanation with his hand over his mouth and his mind frantic. _I'm making enemies again. Already! Maybe there's something wrong with me that makes angry people target me._ _I should avoid that boy too._

By the time he reached his training ground, he was so caught up in the issue of not having any friends that he was barely even thinking about his quirk. He spotted a familiar head, the same girl from before, and decided to _finally_ say something to her, since she seemed to be the only person in the whole school who didn't hate him. Of course, he was stopped by _the same blue haired boy_ before he got the chance. 

_I don't know if I'll be able to go through the same experience that I did in middle school. UA is the best, but I can't do it again._ He apologized quickly to the boy, and made himself scarce in the crowd. _Focusing time. This is everything I prepared for._

"And... begin!" 

As soon as he said the word, the whole crowd started running towards the arena. Izuku was in shape now, officially, but he was still only human, and he found himself near the back of the pack as the speed quirks took the lead. He saw the blue haired boy in particular lead the pack, leg engines steaming, and he sighed.

_It's now or never. If I don't try, I'll never make it._

He stopped running, watching the front competitors take on the first robot. It was huge, but Izuku was sure he could take it in his giant form. _Now or never._

He lifted his hand, squeezed his eyes shut, and bit down hard enough to draw blood, just like he had done all those months ago.

And then... nothing happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like canon doesnt focus enough on the fact that izuku really didnt have any friends at all from like the age of 4 to 14. 10 years bro. give him more awkward


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo check out my fic contest! i just posted it under my collections and all the rules and stuff are there. if you love underrated character interactions and want to write them then it's for you!

_Nothing happened._

Izuku looked around, watched everyone else continue to crush robots at breakneck speed, then back down at his hand. _Maybe I didn't bite hard enough this time._ He stuck his thumb in his mouth once more and _chomped,_ hard enough that tears pricked in his eyes. His mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood, and one look confirmed that he broke skin.

And yet... nothing.

He tried again. What else could he do but continue to try, tearing his thumb apart in the process? He was strong from his training, but he was no match single-handedly against a robot. This was his only chance to make it, and he needed his quirk to do it, so he had to keep going.

_Bite harder. Harder. I'm not doing it right. What am I doing wrong? How can I mess something this simple up, right when I need it the most?_

After two full minutes of fruitless self-carnage, he had to admit to himself that it wasn't going to work.

_Okay. What do I do now?_

He started running further into the city, looking for robots that weren't already destroyed. If he could find one, that would be a good start. He would have to find a way to actually _fight_ said robot, but he would deal with that when the time came. Standing around and sucking his injured thumb definitely wouldn't get him into UA. If he had to break every bone in his body in order to defeat a robot, then he would do it. He had no other choice.

Unfortunately for him, he had wasted a good amount of time with his personal quirk problems, and most of the robots were already smashed. He watched as the blue haired boy from before kicked through three of them consecutively, racing off the second he was done with them. _Oh, to have my quirk so easily accessible. He probably didn't even think before he went at them._

No time for self pity. He raced forward. The fanboy part of him wanted to stop every few feet and watch people's quirks in action, maybe take some notes, but the pragmatic side of him kept him running. _There has to be at least one left. There's no way the test is over now, five minutes after it started._

"Six minutes left!" Present Mic's voice said cheerily over the loudspeaker, like he could read his thoughts. _Not good not good not good!_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of brown, and he turned to see the nice girl from before send 4 robots floating, then immediately crashing to the ground. He covered his head to protect himself from the falling shrapnel.

"That should make 28 points," he heard her mumble under her breath, and it froze him all over again. _28?! How did she get so many?_ Around him, he heard other students mention their points. 32, 37, 48 for one of them. And there he was, with a big fat zero to his name. 

_Why am I even still here? I keep running and running, but there's no way for me to catch up at this point, even if my quirk finally decides to cooperate. I'm wasting my energy, running around like this. I'm sorry, Yagi-san. I'm sorry you wasted so much time on me._

Caught in his thoughts, he didn't see what everyone else did until its footsteps shook the ground beneath him. He jumped, spinning around to find the source of the tremors, and had to crane his head to see the top of it. A robot, one that was at least double the height of the other robots. He recognized it after a second from the presentation. _Zero pointer._

The others were smart enough to start running right away, but Izuku fell on his butt and watched the incoming danger grow closer in a shock-induced stupor. _Wait, no! I have to run!_ He started crawling away as fast as he could, his legs too weak to do any real running. _I have to find some smaller villains, or at the very least, I have to get out of here!_

And then he heard it.

"Ow!" 

He turns back slowly, towards where he came from, towards the zero pointer, and found a girl trapped under a pile of rubble. Not just any girl: the nice girl who helped him when he almost fell on his face earlier. The only person who was decent to him all day, besides for Yagi-san and his mom. And she was going to be crushed by the zero pointer if someone didn't step in soon.

_But there's no one else around. Nobody's here but me._

It played out just like it had almost a year ago, with Kacchan and the sludge villain. He didn't think; he stuck his injured thumb in his mouth and bit down, and he didn't even feel the pain this time. The adrenaline rushing through him masked all of it. And just a moment later, he was in full giant mode, trying to gain his balance on elongated legs and roaring in anger. There was a haze over him again, making the whole world seem like a dream. But even though his thoughts were jumbled, he still had his objective in the front of his mind: knock out that robot and save the girl. 

The robot was still taller than him by a solid number of meters, but Izuku had his giant strength now. He didn't hesitate before leaping at it, fist pulled back and ready to strike. He landed directly on it, sending it flying backwards, and with a single hit, knocked its head right off of its body. He yelled, and the roar it produced echoed through the buildings. 

Then he turned back to the pile of rocks where he knew the girl was and started digging her out, throwing boulders off like they were pebbles. He found her after a few seconds and picked her up by the sweater with two fingers, setting her to the side where she would be safe. She backed a few steps away as soon as she was put down, staring up at him incredulously. He stared right back, not sure what to do now.

"Why did you-" she started to shout, but was cut off by the loudspeaker.

"Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime's up!" Present Mic's voice exclaimed. "Stop what you're doing, little heroes, and exit your battlegrounds! All injured parties, please stay where you are and wait for medical services to arrive!"

_It's over. I didn't get to do anything. I'm so... tired._

The girl started running towards the exit, looking back every so often to see if Izuku would follow, but he was already slumped over on the ground with his eyes squinting shut. _Tired. Need to rest. Zero points._ A second before he passed out, he looked over at his arm stretched out on the ground next to him. It was steaming.

* * *

When he woke up, he was in an infirmary. He could tell from the rows of beds around him, full of moderately injured applicants. _How many people get hurt every year in the entrance exam? Does anyone ever die? Does UA ever try to stop this from happening?_

A quick scan of himself told him that he was Izuku once again, his giant form nowhere to be seen. If the police officers from before were to be believed, then his giant form was currently evaporating somewhere in the training ground. He wanted to run and see if he could take some notes on it, but the second he stepped out of bed, an old woman grabbed his arm and stopped him in place.

_Recovery Girl! I've read about her before. She was a major hero in her time, but she works at UA now! And she's right there in front of me!_

"Please wait until I've dismissed you," she said sternly, watching as he sat back down on the bed. "I need to make sure you're perfectly healthy. You were passed out unconscious before, you know. You could have a concussion."

"Oh, that's just a side effect of my quirk," Izuku said quickly, scratching his neck. "It takes a lot of energy to go into my giant form, so I get really tired afterwards. I'm perfectly fine now, though, see? I didn't get injured at all during the exam." He moved his arms and legs, then wiggled his fingers, and finally tilted his head from side to side. As far as he could tell, he was as good as new. Maybe even better than he had been before the exam. 

"Hmmmm." Recovery Girl considered this. "Give me a minute to check you for a concussion, and then you'll be free to go."

"Okay." As she shined the flashlight in his eyes, he considered asking her to heal his thumb. He was sure it was completely bloodied by now, and he didn't want it to get infected (or worse, make his mom worried). But when he looked down at it, he was shocked to see that it was perfectly fine. It didn't even look like it had a bite mark on it.

_So there must be a healing component to the quirk too that kicks in after I go into giant mode. But does it only heal immediate injuries, or would it also cure an injury from a long time ago? How quickly do I need to shift in order to heal? Does it work on health related injuries like viruses too, or just physical ones? How severe can the injury be? Am I be able to heal other people too while I'm a giant?_

"You're mumbling, dear," Recovery Girl said softly, and Izuku snapped back to attention.

"Sorry!" he squeaked. "It happens sometimes."

"It's quite alright. You're free to go now, if you'd like. I'm giving you a clean bill of health." 

"Thank you!"

His whole commute home was quiet. He felt like there was static in his brain, but it wasn't the same type that filled him when he became a giant. It was a twisting type of static, one that filled him with dissatisfaction. _I failed._

The next few days were just as hard to get through. He took the written exam, and while he was almost positive that he passed, it wasn't by much. With the zero he got from the practical exam, there was no way he would get in at all, even to the general studies course. Not that he really _wanted_ to be in the general studies course, but it was nice to have options. And now he had absolutely none.

His mom tried to cheer him up by saying that she was proud of him no matter what happened, but that only made him feel worse. After all of the training he did, after getting a _quirk,_ he was right back where he started. He was nothing. Nobody. The only person who would ever be proud of him was his mom, and she was proud of him when he got a participation prize in the All Might costume contest at the mall.

He was too ashamed to meet up with Yagi during those days. He didn't feel like he could face him, knowing that he screwed everything up, and he was too weak to apologize. _He'll know I didn't get in, and he'll be mad for a while, but maybe he'll get over it one day. And when that day comes, I'll find him somehow and apologize, and maybe he'll even help me train again. I like being strong, even if I can't..._

He was a coward. He couldn't even bring himself to think the words _I can't be a hero._

A small part of him thought that maybe they would take his quirk into consideration and let him in on that basis alone, but he quickly shook that aside. UA wanted heroes with strong quirks who could _use_ those quirks. Having the giant quirk was worthless if he couldn't activate it on command, and he had clearly demonstrated that he couldn't.

And then the envelope came. His mom delivered it to him right at the end of dinner, and he immediately ran to his room to open it alone. The red UA seal on the front of it left nothing to be guessed. This was it. 

He could hear his mom pacing outside of his room, probably just as anxious about the results as he was, and his hand shook as he tore open the letter. A projector disc fell out and immediately started playing when it hit his desk, before he could even prepare himself. And when he saw who was there, he almost fell out of his chair.

" _All Might?!_ "

"I am here as a projection now!" the All Might in the projection said cheerily, and Izuku actually fell out of his chair at that. He quickly scrambled back into his chair, not wanting to miss a second of this. _All Might's here on the screen, in a suit! But why's he in my UA video?_

"Even though you passed the written part of the exam, you got zero combat points in the practical exam," All Might Projection continued, voice still booming. Izuku shriveled a little in his chair, despite still being taken aback by All Might's presence. _I know. I know I did._ _Just rip the bandaid off already and tell me that I didn't get in._

"However! There were other factors taken into consideration with your exam." He clicked a button, and a video clip started playing next to him. _It's that nice girl from the exam!_

He watched, entranced - and more than a little confused - as she asked them to give him some of her points because he rescued her. _Is that even allowed?_ And then he only became more confused when Present Mic said that he didn't even need the points.

Projection All Might came back before he could start thinking too hard about it. "You see, young Midoriya, there was more to the practical exam than just combat points." _All Might said my name! Wait, I should be focusing!_ "How could the hero course reject someone who is committed to saving others, no matter the consequences to himself? After all, that is what makes a hero."

_Wait. So he's saying..._

"In addition to the combat points, there were also rescue points allotted, and you received sixty. Uraraka Ochako also received 45. In other words, you both passed the exam!"

The screen blurred, and Izuku thought that it was glitching out, but it was only his own eyes brimming with tears. _This can't be real. It's too easy, too convenient. Nothing in my life ever goes this well._

"That's right, young Midoriya," All Might proclaimed. "This is your hero academia!" 

He full out broke down crying there, not being able to contain the raw emotion that came with his _idol,_ his lifelong icon, telling him that he got into UA, his dream school. His mom knocked on his door, and he was about to tell her to come in to join him in celebration, but he stopped in place. Because the recording wasn't done playing, despite the big announcement.

He heard All Might cough, and he looked up in alarm, rubbing his streaming eyes, but All Might wasn't standing there in the projection anymore. There was someone else standing there, someone wearing the same suit that All Might had been wearing and bearing the same blond hair, but it wasn't All Might. It couldn't have been. Because that was-

"Yagi-san," Izuku whispered, even though he knew his mentor couldn't hear him. "How can it..."

"Congratulations, young man," Yagi, _no,_ All Might, said warmly. "I knew you could do it. I'll see you in UA."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few minor fix its for this chapter:  
> iida's apology in canon comes before the challenge, but i switched it to after  
> i made up challenge 7 because the manga doesnt have it listed  
> and of course izuku doesn't know about one for all because he's not getting it. i'm still deciding if/when someone else will.

The next night, Izuku met Yagi at the beach, per the text he received from the man. Part of him was still upset that he had been lied to for almost a year, but he understood why All Might had had to lie. He remembered Yagi's skeletal frame, his bouts of bloody coughing, none of which resembled All Might in the slightest. At least, the All Might that he knew.

More than anything else, he wanted answers. So he found himself at the beach. 

"I'm glad you came," Yagi said from his place at the shoreline. The waves seemed to come within a few inches of his feet, then recede, like he was untouchable, even in his... other form. That was how Izuku felt, at least, now that he knew the truth. He kept his distance. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I will answer all of them to the best of my ability."

"What happened to you, All Might?" Izuku asked, and tears pricked his eyes even though he _told_ himself back at his house that he wouldn't cry about it. He couldn't help it. Looking at an emaciated All Might made him feel like all of the hope in the world was gone. 

"There was a big battle," All Might explained, still facing the water. He hadn't looked at Izuku since he arrived. Maybe he was ashamed. "I won, but my stomach was destroyed, and most of my respiratory system too. All of this-" he gestured to himself, "-is the aftereffects of the surgery. I'm lucky to be alive at all, really, much less able to use my quirk."

The thought of a world without All Might was a bit too much for Izuku to think about, so he focused on his other questions. "How long are you able to uses your quirk for?" he asked, letting the slightest bit of geek escape. He was curious, he couldn't help it.

"About three hours a day," All Might answered sheepishly. "More, if I spread it out and take breaks in between."

"How many people know about this?"

"Only the people who have to. I'd say four or five in total."

Izuku sucked in a big breath. "Are you dying?"

Yagi finally turned to face him, the same person that had motivated him through ten months of training and transformation. The same person he looked up to for all of his life, the person he _still_ looked up to now. "I'm still here, young Midoriya. I'm still here."

A choking sound escaped from Izuku's throat. "Okay," sniff, "good. Um. Are you actually a janitor at UA?"

This got a deep laugh from Yagi, which turned into a series of coughs that had Izuku running to his side. "No, my boy, I'm not. I just thought you would ask questions if I told you that I'm going to be a teacher."

Pause. "You're going to be teaching? At UA?" 

"Yes I will. And I won't be going easy on you just because I helped to train you, so..." Izuku blinked, and before him stood All Might. Well, it was always All Might, but now he was in his full muscled form. "Be sure to do your best!"

Izuku, still tear stained and in shock over all of the new developments in his life, could only nod and wipe his eyes. _Yagi's going to be teaching me at UA._ All Might's _going to be teaching me at UA._ All of the things he never truly thought could happen - meeting All Might, going to UA, having a quirk, being a hero - were suddenly colliding at once, and it was kind of overwhelming in the best way possible.

"Are you alright?" All Might asked, and Izuku nodded again, harder this time.

"Yep. Yes. I'm alright."

* * *

A few weeks later, he found himself standing in front of class 1-A's giant doors.

 _I wonder if my giant form will fit through here._ He tried to estimate how tall it would be, and concluded that he would still be too tall for the door frame. _Doesn't matter. Not like I'll be transforming myself indoors anytime soon._

He came prepared for his first day. Three notebooks in his bag - one for observations about his quirk, one for his classmates, and one spare - along with a full pencil case. A few boxes of bandaids for when he inevitably had to hurt his finger again and couldn't heal it (he didn't want to have to go to Recovery Girl _every_ time). A book to read during lunch, where he would probably sit somewhere quiet and alone. His lunch, packed by his mom. And a box of tissues, just to be safe.

He hesitated, trying to listen through the door for trouble. He couldn't hear anything, but assumed it was because the door was too thick. _I might have enemies in there. Kacchan, the blue haired boy. I just have to hope they aren't in there._

He opened the door to find... both of them. Right there. Arguing with each other. _New plan. Keep my head down and slip inside._

"Hey, it's you!" he heard a surprisingly friendly voice call, and he tentatively looked up to find the nice girl from the practical exam. _A friendly face! The gods really do exist!_

"Oh, hi," he said, sticking his hands in his pocket so she couldn't see them fidget. "Nice to-"

"If you're here to socialize, then get out," a low voice mumbled from below him. He jumped backwards, looking for the source of the noise, and found a caterpillar man. A second later, he concluded, _No. He's in a sleeping bag._

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta," the man said, climbing out of the bag. Izuku could see that he was wearing a full hero costume underneath, complete with a scarf. _Could the scarf be part of his quirk? What kind of quirk does he even have._ "Time is a precious resource, but it doesn't seem like something you all value very much."

He looked around the room, frowning, and his eyes settled on Izuku. Izuku flinched, looking to the ground. _Why is he staring at me? Did I do something wrong already?_

"Grab your gym clothes and head out to the grounds," Aizawa finally said, and Izuku cautiously looked upward. "We're going to be having a quirk test."

The quirk test turned out to be a series of eight challenges, each designed to test a different aspect of physical strength. And, in true UA fashion, there was a catch: the lowest scorer would be expelled.

Between the UA practical exam and his first day of high school, Izuku had had plenty of time to examine his quirk deeper. During the ten months of training without a quirk, he had had minimal information about his own quirk to speculate about, but the test provided some much needed info.

For example, his quirk didn't activate every time he bit his thumb. It was only when he had some sort of strong objective in his mind that the transformation took place. So far, he had only used it to rescue other people, so he hoped that it wasn't a prerequisite to using it, but he wasn't entirely sure. _Can I even be a hero like that? I won't be able to do much in school training._

He also came to the conclusion that his quirk had a set time limit, although he didn't know how long it was. He planned on timing himself at some point to see how long he would last, but he felt this was a bad time to test himself. 

And thirdly, his quirk made him pass out afterwards for an indeterminate amount of time. That was something he would definitely have to work on.

 _I'll activate my quirk for the second to last challenge,_ he decided. _If I score high enough on the last two, then I'll probably be able to not get expelled._ God, getting expelled on his first day of UA. He would probably die on the spot. 

The first test was a race, and the blue haired boy sped past them all. Izuku didn't spend almost a year training to be left in dust by everyone, though, and managed not to get last place, coming in a comfortable 15th. 

In grip strength, he came in 16th. In the long jump, 16th. In sidestepping, 15th. He wasn't making a bad showing - well, not the _worst_ showing - but he was lacking a specialty. What the brawnier kids lacked in speed, they made up for in strength. What the smaller kids lacked in strength, they made up for in speed. Everyone's quirk was good for at least one challenge. And at least half of the resourceful kids beat him out in both, especially the ones with powerful quirks. _I have to stay in this. I have to._

The second to last challenge was a vertical jump, and they all gathered around a large concrete tower built for the challenge. Izuku watched the others carefully as he steeled himself to use his quirk. Kacchan, of course, launched himself as high as his explosions would take him. The girl with the ponytail made a whole pogo stick from her stomach, just as she had done for the long jump. The boy with the scar made an ice tower so high, he topped Kacchan's handprint easily. Izuku watched them all and tried not to shake.

Uraraka went right before him, and he knew her quirk was made for this. She managed to reach the very top of the tower, floating herself slowly to stand on top of it before throwing up over the side. Izuku watched on in concern, then turned to ask Aizawa if someone would be coming to rescue her, only to find the man already facing him.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, and _oh. He knows about my quirk._ "Go rescue her. If you can't, I'll call someone else in, but for the sake of your grade, I would suggest you try your hardest."

He felt his eyes on his back as he bit his thumb. Someone in the class gasped as a droplet of blood trickled down his hand, but he closed his eyes and tried to block them out. _I want to save Uraraka. I want to save Uraraka._

Nothing happened. For a second, he was afraid his quirk was acting up again, just like in the practical exam. _If it doesn't work now, I'm done._

"I erased your quirk," Aizawa says from behind him, and when Izuku turned, he found his teacher's eyes glowing red. _Erased my quirk... Eraserhead!_

"You're Eraserhead!" he exclaimed out loud. "The erasure hero! I should've recognized by the goggles. I thought you were an underground hero, though." Even after meeting All Might, the thrill of encountering pro heroes face to face was never lost on him.

"I'm a teacher now," Aizawa sighed, and his eyes turned from red to black. "Anyway, I erased your quirk because you're standing too close to the other students. Be more courteous next time you transform, unless you want to trample one of them."

"Oh, right!" Izuku jogged ahead of the group, stopping when he got Aizawa's approval. 

"Quirk?" he heard Kacchan say distantly. "He doesn't have a quirk. He's quirkless."

"Nonsense," the blue haired boy replied, and he didn't sound angry. _Maybe he's not mad at me anymore._ "How could he get into UA otherwise?"

Izuku looked down at his bleeding thumb, gritted his teeth, and bit it again. _I want to save Uraraka._ And then he transformed in a flash of light, growing eight times his normal height and into something that could only be described as a monster.

He couldn't hear what the students on the ground were saying, but he could tell by their movements that they were intimidated. He felt a little bad for scaring them, and even more so for almost trampling them before, but he couldn't focus on them now. Any second, he could transform back into a regular person, and then he would have just as few points as he had started with.

The tower was still taller than him by a bit, and he stretched his arm up until his hand was level with the top of it, flattening it palm-up into a platform of sorts. He saw Uraraka approach the edge, but not climb on yet. Probably scared of falling off.

"Come on!" he tried to shout, but it came out as a deafening, primal yell that sent her rushing back to the middle of the tower. _So much for that._

He took a moment to try and think of a different way to communicate, and then settled on something. He waved until he got Uraraka's attention, then made a peace sign with his hand. The universal signal of _everything is fine._ She gaped at him for a second, but seemed to get the message. Then he motioned her over, and she approached the edge once again, stepping tentatively onto the open palm of his hand. He couldn't smile reassuringly like All Might would, given that he didn't have any lips, but he tried to make his face as nonthreatening as possible. As slowly as he could, he lowered her down, only breathing again once her feet were on solid ground. 

The second she was there, he felt a shifting in his body. _Oh. Now that I finished what I told myself I'd do, I'm changing back._ He was glad that he had rescued Uraraka, but he still hadn't gotten to do what he _actually_ had to do to stay at UA.

As his strength began to drain, he leaped upward, clearing the tower with almost half his body, and slammed his hand down on the roof of the structure. The concrete rumbled under the force, and a 7 foot long chunk broke off from the corner, falling to the ground beside him and almost crushing his toes.

He fell back to the ground and felt a familiar exhaustion creeping over him. _No! I have to stay awake. If I pass out, Aizawa-sensei will never let me stay here, even if I impressed him before._

He grit his teeth and forced his eyes to stay open, digging his nails - he was pleased to note that this form did have nails, just like his normal self - into his palm. He noted, with some alarm, that his hand was steaming. His whole boy was steaming, in fact. _So that's what the policemen were talking about before. I've never been awake to see it actually happen before._

Izuku closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw nothing but _red._ He tried to move his limbs and found them bound by fibers, which he tore through with the last of his energy. Then he burst through wherever he was - his giant body, he assumed - and fell onto the ground. He checked himself for blood, but there was nothing. Indeed, even his finger was healed.

"Midoriya," he heard Aizawa call, and he tilted his head in his direction. "Are you alright?"

"Yes sir," Izuku said softly, then repeated it loud enough to be heard. "Yes sir! I'm okay." He realized that this was his first opportunity to closely examine his quirk and clambered over to the steaming body. _The muscles are too hot to touch. So it's decomposing at a rapid rate and releasing heat as a result._ Most of the bones were already exposed, and he gripped one of them for support. Then, mystified, he lifted it off the ground. _Lightweight. Barely any heft at all. Are the bones hollow? How can it even support itself?_

"Midoriya." He heard his name called again, and now it was a lot closer. Aizawa stood only a few feet away, eyes glowing again. He needn't have bothered; Izuku was sure he wouldn't be able to transform again if he tried. "Will you be able to participate in the last challenge?"

It took Izuku a moment to process his words. "Oh, um, I think so. I probably won't be able to do so well, though."

He followed Aizawa back to the group, where his whole class was openly gaping at him.

"Wow! What a manly quirk," a red haired boy exclaimed. "That was insane!"

"Thanks for saving me again," Uraraka said. "Your quirk is just as cool as ever!"

Even the blue haired boy stepped forward. "Midoriya, I must apologize for how I treated you before the entrance exam. You truly have a heroic spirit."

"Um, thank you," Izuku replied to all of them. He wanted nothing more than to take a nap, but forced himself to stay up. "I did my best." Looking around the group, Izuku realized something odd. _Kacchan isn't here._

"Bakugou was acting rashly, so I told him to wait out the last challenge indoors," Aizawa explained when he asked. "He wasn't expelled, but he will be admonished for his yelling."

 _Yelling?_ It took Izuku another moment to process this. _Oh god. My quirk._ He remembered being slammed into the bricks, Kacchan telling him not to joke like that ever again. _I tried to tell him!_ But he knew that that wasn't the problem here. The problem, in Kacchan's eyes, was that a quirkless loser was suddenly not so quirkless after all. The problem, in his eyes, was that Izuku finally had the chance to stand on the same level as him.

_You know what? Maybe I don't care about his feelings so much right now after all._

He came in dead last for the ball throw, which was to be expected. Just lifting his arm was a strain on him. _Giant body probably takes up more energy. If I want to be able to function, then I'll have to eat more. A lot more._ He just hoped that his performance before was enough to save him from expulsion. 

Aizawa lined them all up and displayed their results. Izuku scanned them over quickly, starting from 20th, and worked his way up with a sigh of relief. _I'm in 16th. Nice._ Last place, a boy named Mineta, complained loudly about the unfairness of it all, but Aizawa ignored him as he led them back to the main building. Izuku felt bad for the boy, but he didn't really know him that well, so who was he to judge UA's methods?

"I can't believe it's only been one period," Uraraka said, walking alongside Izuku. "I bet we'll have like five more of these challenges today."

"That sounds tiring," Izuku replied with a bit of a laugh. "I could barely stay awake during the ball throw."

"I was concerned that you would fall unconscious again," the blue haired boy said, walking on his other side. "But you managed to stay upright! I'm glad."

Izuku stared at him for a moment, and his exhausted mouth asked, "I'm sorry, what's your name again? I didn't catch it before."

"I apologize," the boy said, bowing his head. "I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm Iida Tenya, from Somei Middle School."

"Nice to meet you officially, Iida." He paused, and then his next words just spilled out. "Do you have to eat a specific diet to fuel your leg engines, or are they powered by the regular food you eat? Also, do you have to oil them?" He was embarrassed the second after he asked - no one wanted to talk quirks with the weirdo - but Iida answered sincerely, and Uraraka soon joined in too. They spent the rest of the walk discussing their quirks, and Izuku wished that he had his notebook with him. _No, they would think it's weird. If I want to be friendly with them, then I have to be careful._

When they reached their homeroom, there was already someone seated inside, angrily scribbling notes about who knows what. Kacchan didn't look up as they filed in, casting him weary glances, and didn't even blink when Aizawa followed. He only even seemed to register a change in the room once Izuku approached his desk, directly behind his. He whipped his head around, glaring directly at him. 

_Is he going to attack me right here, in front of everyone? Doesn't he know that he'll just get expelled like that?_

Either he read his thoughts, or decided to be uncharacteristically controlled for once, but Kacchan didn't move a muscle. All he did was stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok we all know that aizawa would've expelled last place if it wasnt midoriya. also mineta somehow not getting last place in canon feels fishy to me so i fixed it. i'll give 1,000,000,000 internet points to whoever can guess his replacement (no its not shinsou. i love shinsou but i wanted to make myself laugh so its not shinsou. just saved you all a guess. shinsou will still be in the story though dont worry)
> 
> EDIT: i searched it up and APPARENTLY this character is actually a second year. Go figure. Nevertheless, i have made the executive decision to ignore that. They are a first year now. I decree it

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: laurenshappenstobemyhusband


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